


how to capture iridescence

by orphan_account



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Artists, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Photographer, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Painting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22657432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Galo has started his first semester of college as a fine arts major in photography, and he's already feeling a bit of pressure from one of his classes. He's required to submit a portfolio with a succinct theme by the end of the semester, however, he's having trouble finding some inspiration, every snap of his shutter producing something lackluster and dull.That is until he meets Lio, another fine arts major with a concentration in painting. All it takes is one look, and Galo suddenly finds himself swimming in creativity...and something else that makes his chest hitch and breathing labored.Or: Galo and Lio become each other’s muses.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 33
Kudos: 150





	1. Chapter 1

Galo furrowed his brows as he peered through the viewfinder, gently adjusting the focus of his lens. Orange and yellow merged and faded and swirled together again until the edges of the autumn leaves cut through the blue of the sky, the afternoon sun filtering through the cracks, illuminating their transparency to reveal the shadows of veins running through their flesh, reminding Galo how very much alive dying leaves can be. He squinted an eye full of azure and snapped the shutter. 

He took one look at the illuminated photo and groaned.

"Another bust?" Aina hummed, looking up from her notebook to watch Galo run a frustrated hand through his blue head of hair.

"Yeah," he let out a breathy sigh, letting his arm flop onto the grass. He stared up at the branches of the oak tree they were under, watching the wind rustle through the leaves, "I can't give up though. Not if I want to have the best portfolio by the end of the semester."

"Let me see it," Aina crawled over to where Galo was lying, hovering over him, pink strands of hair tickling his nose. He carefully handed her his camera.

A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stared at the small screen, "Galo, what do you mean? This is good."

"It's okay, but...I don't know, there's something missing. It's not inspiring enough to give me a theme idea, you know? How am I supposed to have the world's best portfolio if I have no inspiration?"

"Relax, drama queen," Lucia smacked on her bubblegum before continuing, "It's literally the first day of class. You have plenty of time to figure it out."

"Ugh." Lucia was right, it was their first official day of college, and in true Galo fashion, he already placed an enormous amount of pressure to prove himself and be the best in his major. He felt it sit on his shoulders, felt it hover at the nape of his neck as he stared at the rustling leaves, the sun rays bleeding through them and catching his eye. He quickly sat up.

"Yeah, and besides, you have plenty of great photos already. I'm sure you’ll find something that'll inspire you. Also, it's your very first photography class, so cut yourself some slack." Galo had trouble pushing Aina's reassurance away. As much as he wanted to remain stubborn, he couldn't, her eyes too full of comfort and indigo. He averted her gaze to look at Lucia instead, who was busy fixing her pink and blonde buns. She still gave herself a moment to pause and smile at him, even if it was a little sharp and impish.

He let out another sigh, this time finally releasing his pent up frustration as he took his camera back from Aina. He gave his friends a grateful smile, which then curled upwards into his normal cocky grin. Aina and Lucia both laughed as they rolled their eyes.

"No worries, I'm gonna have the best damn portfolio this campus has ever seen!" He quickly stood up and spread his arms out wide, sprinkling blades of grass into the air. He began to slowly turn in a circle, his grin still brimming with confidence from ear to ear, "I have this big ol' campus to explore! I'll find something that'll get my ass in gear and—"

Galo froze, his pupils contracting into something small, turning his eyes into pure celeste sparkling with wonder. Amongst the sea of roaming students, there was one in particular who vice gripped Galo's chest, squeezing until he was sure his heart would burst out of his ears.

He stepped onto the field with a sort of graceful wispiness, each swing of his arm nimble and elegant, almost curling in the air like smoke. He wore dark blue jeans and a tight high-neck tank top that revealed his midriff, and Galo could see the faint edges of his toned physique. His pale skin was kissed pink by the sun in some places, and his light blonde hair looked soft and feathery, framing his sharp jaw and glimmering mint in the right light. As he glided closer, Galo was able to get a good look at his eyes. _Those eyes._ Lilac and hibiscus melted together, eliciting a softness underscored by the long lashes fanning over them. They made eye contact for a brief moment, Galo's face flushing with heat as the other student slanted his eyes. He wanted to move towards him, wanted to walk on over and say hello, anything to hear what this alluring young man sounded like. Galo wondered if he sounded like velvet, or a sunrise, or the soft petals of his eyes. He didn't get a chance, however, because every time he tried to will any of his limbs to move, it was if they were welded together from the heat of his infatuation. So all Galo could do was hopelessly stare as the space between them began to shrink.

Thankfully, the universe managed to give Galo a small break. A large gust of wind billowed throughout the field, forcing the other student to stop as large autumn leaves swirled around him. By some force of will, Galo absentmindedly lifted his camera, peered through the viewfinder, and snapped the shutter. Once the leaves settled onto the earth, the stranger carded a lithe hand through his hair and stared at Galo once again, taking the time to glance down at his camera before meeting his celeste gaze.

He definitely noticed Galo taking a picture of him.

Panic began to settle into every crevice of Galo's skin, starting with the electrical current running through the lines of his palms as the grip on his camera tightened. The student began to walk towards him, but before he could cover any meaningful distance, Galo heard fast footfalls muffled by the grass behind him.

"Hey, Lio!"

Two upperclassmen ran past Galo, one of them accidentally shoved through his shoulder. He stopped to apologize, scratching the top of his fluffy red head with an olive hand.

"Sorry, mate! But some advice? Try to look more alive." Before he could continue, he was pulled along by his friend with long navy hair clashing with the paleness of his skin. They stopped when they reached who was presumably Lio, both pulling him into a tight bear hug. The trio shared a laugh, and Galo could pick out the soft bass of Lio's giggle spiraling through the air, tumbling along with the falling leaves until it gently settled onto his ears. Galo shuddered.

Lio and his friends began to walk past Galo from where the duo ran from, but before they got too far, Lio looked over his shoulder to give what Galo would optimistically describe as a smolder and a half smile before turning away.

Galo stood as statuesque as ever, staring until Aina's and Lucia's giggles forced him to snap towards them. He'd forgotten they were even there.

"Galo I've never seen you stay so still and quiet before," Aina stood up and gently took the camera from his hands, "it would seem you have a bit of a crush there."

"Huh!? No way, I don't even know him!"

"I think it's cute," she continued, ignoring his protest, "I've never seen _the_ Galo Thymos rendered speechless and flustered. You even took a picture of him. Let's see it then."

"Galo, who knew you could be such a creep?" Lucia chimed, standing up to lean against her girlfriend.

"Wait, was it really that creepy? Ah shi—"

"Nah, not really. I'm just teasin'. Well, maybe a little, but the man of your dreams didn't seem to mind. If he did, I'm pretty sure he would have confronted you about it. That little blonde looks like he could tussle with a grizzly bear."

Galo blushed at that, and he wasn't entirely sure why. He blamed the flush of his cheeks on his prolonged exposure to the afternoon sun and not the image of Lio rough housing with him for a bit.

"Galo..." Aina's breathless voice coupled with her widened eyes full of sparkling midnight as she stared at his camera screen made him raise an eyebrow, "you should look at this picture."

"Uh, sure," he took his camera back from Aina and stared at the photo on the screen. The airs of the afternoon had settled since its last breath, but Galo swore he felt another almost sweep him off his feet.

Autumn leaves twirled and swirled all around the frame, billowing about as if the world exhaled for the first time. Instead of simple orange and yellow merging and fading and spiraling together, this time it was amber and gold melting and fluxing and twisting, forming blazing helixes around Lio, who was just off center with a hand running through his hair. The afternoon sun illuminated the paleness of his skin, his expression rivaling the glow of the cinders in the form of leaves scattering about. And his eyes, _those eyes_ , transformed into amethyst crashing into pink spinel, the sunlight refracting off the margins and colliding with the lens. He looked like he was emerging from a blazing inferno.

Galo was left breathless for the second time that afternoon.

_Lio..._

"Guys, I think I found some inspiration."

+++

Galo couldn't stop tapping his pen against his desk, his left leg pumping up and down underneath. The lecture hall was slowly starting to fill up, and he watched as more and more bodies piled in through the double doors, friends recognizing friends, students giving each other polite waves as they took their seats. Galo tried to ease his nerves, but being nervous wasn't a feeling he was particularly used to. He wasn't even sure why he was so apprehensive, he'd been just fine during his morning classes, so why now?

His mind kept drifting back to the early afternoon, kept drifting back to burnt sienna curling around the perfect muse. Despite the frigidity of the lecture hall, Galo felt his cheeks flush, and he chugged the rest of the water he had to chase away the blush. He took a deep breath and focused on the students walking through the doors. It helped for a moment as he felt his leg stop shaking and the tapping slow down, until he saw a very familiar blonde head of hair float into the hall. Galo's chest hitched and he flung his pen clean across the room.

A few students turned to him with arched brows, but he paid them no mind as Lio caught his gaze. He stood at the doorway for a moment, those ametrine eyes sparkling like fireworks from across the room as he stared at Galo. Finally, after an achingly long couple of seconds, Lio graced Galo with a small smile and began to climb up the stairs towards him. Galo felt the spark of electricity return, felt it trickle into the crevices of his palms as well as the dips of his collar bones, felt it slither into his rib cage and jolt through his veins. He seriously regretted drinking all of his water, almost choking on air as Lio closed the distance and sat down next to him.

Speechless wasn't even the word as he watched Lio get settled. His movements were graceful and defined all at once, pulling his textbook out of his bag with a thoughtful carefulness before placing it on his desk. He pulled the rest of his supplies out one by one, a clear pen case, a small black notebook, and an eyeglass case. Watching someone pull simple everyday items out of their bag shouldn't be so mesmerizing, but it is, it is and Galo can't find it in him to avert his eyes elsewhere, as if he'd miss something precious if he did. His gaze wavered for a moment watching Lio shiver slightly in the cold room. Galo almost built up the courage to offer the flannel he kept at the bottom of his backpack and never used, but Lio reached into his own and pulled out a wooly, tawny cardigan and put it on. The swing of the sleeves caused a small draft of air, and Galo could smell faint traces of something soft and sweet flutter in the air.

Lio smelled like roses.

Galo tried and failed not to blush _again_ , finding himself completely overwhelmed and they haven't even spoken to each other. Galo wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

Lio opened his eyeglass case and put on a pair of black-framed glasses, the lavender and carnation hues of his eyes colliding with the sheen of the lenses. Galo almost passed out when Lio finally turned to him, eyes full of ametrine slanting in tandem with his smirk.

"Hi."

Galo decided Lio's voice didn't sound like velvet, or a sunrise, or the soft petals of his eyes. No, his voice was resonant and rich, a soft sonorous bass that slipped into his ear and swirled around his heart.

"Hi," was all Galo managed to echo.

"Is this your first semester here?"

"Uh, yeah, it is. What about you?" Galo felt his heart hammer against his chest, felt it pound in his ears and hum in his wrists. Making conversation with anyone and everyone has always been easy for Galo. Yet here he was, at a loss for words, his boastful confidence slipping out of his nose while he stared at Lio, his mind fluttering as the latter tucked a minty strand of hair behind his ear, which was adorned with a cute black triangle stud.

Maybe Galo did have a crush. A huge, overwhelming, finger-numbing crush that enveloped his skin like wildfire.

"It's my first semester as well," Lio opened his notebook and began to scribble the date at the top. Even his handwriting was pretty, a lovely combination of whirls and sharp edges, "I must admit, I've had quite a turbulent first day so far. I haven't had the time to become acquainted with any classmates, and the day has certainly been windy. I walked through the oak field earlier and the biggest gust of wind almost knocked me over."

Lio narrowed his eyes and Galo sincerely thought he was going to pass out right then and there. Surely his comment about the wind was an indication that he knew he took his picture, and Galo didn't know if he could survive such a confrontation.

"Ha, yeah I guess it was pretty windy," Galo began to sweat while Lio kept his gaze steady.

"Hmm, it surely was," Lio's impish smirk softened into a small smile, "I was hoping I'd be able to befriend someone in this class. Would you like to be the first friend I've made here?"

"Yes!" Galo answered a little too quickly, and Lio raised an eyebrow in response, "I mean, yeah we could be friends, if you want."

Lio's eyes widened in relief and Galo could have sworn he saw a bit of pink settle on the peaks of Lio's cheeks, but it quickly vanished.

"Great, I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Lio, Lio Fotia."

"I'm Galo Thymos. Nice to meet you." His name came out a little shaky, but Lio simply huffed out a tiny giggle.

"The pleasure is all mine," there was something mischievous in the almost sing song tone of his voice, but Galo tried not to linger on that.

"Good afternoon, class," the professor finally entered the lecture hall, "I'm Professor Colossus, and welcome to History of Visual Arts. Turn to chapter one of your textbooks as I'm assuming you've all read the foreword and the introduction already."

The class collectively shuffled as everyone turned the pages of their books. Galo reached into his backpack to grab his, only to realize he left it in the back of Aina's car earlier that morning as they rushed to make it to their first class. He let out a frustrated sigh, causing Lio to look up with a raised brow.

"Everything okay?"

"No, I forgot my textbook and it's the first day of class."

Lio gave him a reassuring expression, "We can share my textbook, then. I don't mind." Lio balanced his textbook in between their desks, leaning in very close to Galo, who was sure Lio could hear how fast his heart was beating. The smell of roses was fully in bloom, and Galo felt a bit dizzy from it all. The proximity of Lio caused a blanketing heat to erupt from the pit of his stomach, and Galo wondered if this was something a little more than a crush, which sounded absurd, but Galo didn't have anything to compare these feelings to, he'd never had a crush on anyone, always so focused on being the best and proving himself.

He opened his notebook to begin note taking, but he'd forgotten he flung his pen across the lecture hall. Lio noticed him fluster again and gave him a questioning look.

"I, uh, don't have a pen. Well, I had one, but I accidentally threw it across the room." Galo whispered.

Lio's eyes widened and sparkled with amused bewilderment, "You threw a pen across the room?"

"Accidentally!"

"Uh huh, and how do you accidentally throw a pen across a room?"

"I don't know! I guess I'm just an idiot."

Lio frowned at that, "Don't say that, besides," he reached into his pen case to retrieve another, "I have plenty of pens. You can keep this one, just promise me you won't chuck it across any lecture halls."

Galo held out his pinky as he accepted the offer, "I pinky promise!"

Lio's cool demeanor broke for a moment, his face blushing while he stared at Galo's pinky. It took all of Galo's remaining strength to not audibly gasp like a fool, the sight of a flushed Lio rendering Galo weightless.

_Breathtaking._

Lio curled his pinky around Galo's and finally rewarded him with a genuine smile void of any mischief, "Good."

The lecture went on, and Galo was grateful for the distraction of the material. It may have been an introductory course, but Professor Colossus wasn't pulling any punches. It took some effort on his part to keep up, but it kept Galo from stealing too many glances at Lio, even if his arm felt a little numb from the heat of Lio's propinquity.

About thirty minutes into the class, Lio stood up a little and leaned in very close to Galo, his lips almost grazing his earlobe, "I saw you, you know."

Somehow, Galo felt everything and nothing all at once. He felt the entirety of his stomach drop to his toes and the nerves in the tips of his fingers suddenly stopped working.

"Uh, wha—"

"I saw you take a picture of me in the oak field," Lio sat back down and resumed taking notes as if he hadn't caused Galo's entire nervous system to short circuit. For the remaining fifteen minutes of class, Galo was pretty sure he blacked out, unable to remember any of the notes he somehow managed to scribble down by the time they were dismissed.

Galo remained seated as Lio gathered his belongings and put his glasses away.

"Well, I have my last class in about ten minutes, but when you're free, you should show me that picture sometime, and maybe explain why you took a picture of me in the first place."

"It wasn't lik—"

"See you on Wednesday, Galo Thymos," Lio turned on his heel and began to walk away. Again, Galo was left speechless and staring as he watched Lio saunter through the double doors.

_Shit._

+++

"You threw your pen across the room?"

"It was an accident!"

"Oh, I definitely believe it was an accident. What I'm having a hard but hilarious time conceiving is how you even got so ruffled to the point where you threw your pen across a whole ass lecture hall," Lucia opened a bag of chocolate covered pretzels as Galo walked her to her class. The late afternoon was on the verge of fading into the evening, the sky starting to bleed orange into the blue. He picked up the camera that hung around his neck and snapped a photo of the transitioning stratosphere. He took a look at the screen and frowned.

Galo didn't have any remaining classes for the day, but Aina and Lucia still had one more and he hitched a ride with them, so he had no choice but to be at the mercy of Lucia's teasing. The trio had an hour break after his History of Visual Arts class, and he took the time to relay the events of his last encounter with Lio. He kept his gaze on the leaves of the oak tree again as his roommates snickered at his presumable misfortune. Aina's class was on the other side of campus, so when they parted ways, Galo figured he'd walk Lucia to class since it was close to the library, and he supposed he could get a head start on his studies. After all, how was he supposed to be the best in his major without being proactive?

But as Lucia continued to cackle in between pretzel bites, Galo was feeling a tiny smidge of regret.

"I...I don't know, Lio is just so..." Galo wasn't sure how to describe how utterly mesmerizing Lio was, so he did the next best thing and waved his arms around in hopes Lucia would understand.

"Oh, I _know_ , I have eyeballs," Lucia popped another pretzel in her mouth, "I can't wait to tell Remi and Varys once we're all home."

"Do you really have to tell them?" He reached into her bag of pretzels and took a couple pieces. Lucia tried to snatch them back, but Galo barely had to raise his arms to keep them out of reach, "They're never gonna let me live it down, especially Varys."

"Exactly, and paws off!" She slapped his hand away as he reached for her bag again, "We never get to actually rile you up over stuff like this. Who knew all it took was a cute lil' blonde who looks like he could fight a shark and win?"

All Galo did was sigh in response. She was right, he was completely and utterly god smacked by Lio, and they barely even spoke to each. How could such minimal interaction elicit such visceral sensations out of Galo? He replayed their small conversation in class over and over again, unable to forget the smell roses, the gentle and strong bass of his voice, the length of his eyelashes as they fanned over a pair of stupefying eyes...

And of course, how could Galo forget that at some point, he'd have to explain himself to Lio. At least that meant he'd be able to talk to him again, technically.

He glanced around the campus to distract from the growing unease blossoming in his chest. Despite being right in the middle of a concrete jungle, the University of Promepolis was surprisingly lush, even boasting an entire field dedicated to oak trees. Fauna bloomed around every corner, accentuating the beautiful brown and greystone buildings dotted along the grounds. The windy day allowed dried leaves and a few petals to twirl around the bustling students, and Galo's attempt to distract himself from all thoughts of Lio failed miserably as he was vividly reminded of the way the autumn leaves curled around him.

"Well, we made it. Thanks for walking with me, and try not to fall on your ass for Lio, at least wait until I can start recording," Lucia ran up the steps of the engineering building, which was paneled entirely with large, glass windows. She shot him a peace sign before disappearing behind the transparent door.

"Hey, I wouldn't fall on my _ass_! If anything, I'd make it look really cool," he called out before the door shut behind her. He could hear the faint muffle of her giggle as he heard the lock click.

It only took him a minute or two to reach the library. It was tall and imposing, and casted a large shadow on the gray concrete below. Galo could feel his hand twitch instinctually as he gripped his camera, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead with the other. He grinned through the nerves, crumpling them up in a small ball and tossing them out of his head. He was feeling pumped up, eager to get a head start on his classwork, to prove he was more than just his camera.

The library smelled exactly like he thought it would, the musk of old yellowing pages lingering in the air. He was shocked to see so many students already studying, he was certainly not the only one acting on his diligence. In fact, the library was so busy and full, Galo had to climb all the way up to the fourth floor to find an available seat. After walking past rows and rows of books, he found a small clearing of tables, but before he could sigh in relief, he realized there was only one table with a few extra chairs.

And that table was occupied by Lio.

Galo felt every organ that lived in his torso fly right to the middle of his throat, and his lips pressed into a thin line to suppress the gasp he so desperately needed to let out. Lio was hovering over their History of Visual Arts textbook, his glasses perched delicately on the bridge of his nose. He appeared to have ear buds in, which Galo only noticed because he couldn't help but allow his gaze to wander over to that lovely triangle stud, which would explain why he hadn't noticed him just yet. He watched him take notes for a moment, his hand moving with a kind of graceful flourish Galo found endearing, which made him notice tiny specs of paint splattered over some of his fingers.

Galo finally took a deep breath and lightly clapped the sides of his face before he made his way over to the table.

_He's just a person, Galo! It'll be fine, you'll be fine. You've never backed down from anything in your whole life and you're not gonna start now!_

He carefully placed his camera and bag on the table before he took the seat diagonal to Lio, who promptly looked up at Galo. The lilac of his eyes began to twinkle and he gave Galo a very pointed smirk.

"Couldn't wait until Wednesday?" Lio's whisper wormed its way in between the gaps of Galo's ribcage again, who wondered if it would feel like this every time Lio spoke.

Still, he tried his best to keep his composure, determined not to falter under Lio's dazzling stare.

"Actually, I just came here to study for our class. Professor Colossus really dug deep on our first day."

"She most certainly did," Lio narrowed his eyes, "quick question, though. How are you supposed to study for her class if you forgot your textbook?"

Galo froze, he completely forgot to grab it out of Aina's car during his break, his mind too preoccupied with his previous encounter with Lio.

_Great. Now it looks like I've been following him and that this was all on purpose. Argh!_

"I don't mind sharing again if you'd like," Lio pulled out the chair next to him, lightly patting the seat, as if he were daring Galo to take it.

And Galo never said no to dares.

"Sure, thanks again. I really appreciate it," he made his way over, carefully sitting down as Lio watched him. Galo realized he miscalculated a bit, he didn't know just how close he'd be to Lio once he sat down, the smell of roses curling in the air around them. Lio placed his textbook in between them, scooting even closer to Galo, who wondered if Lio knew just how alluring he looked underneath his tawny cardigan. Galo shook his head and took out his notebook and pen.

"Oh, I see my pen has made it through the whole day. Not that I doubted you or anything."

"Of course, I take good care of the gifts I receive, especially if they're from my friends," Galo bit the inside of his cheek as the weight of his words settled into the air. Lio was kind enough to relax his smirk into a smile and seemed genuinely appreciative of what Galo said.

"That's good to hear," he flipped through the textbook a couple pages back to allow Galo a chance to catch up. He couldn't stop staring at the pink and yellow paint speckling his elegant fingers, curiosity threatening to spill out.

"You've got some paint on your hands, are you an artist?"

Lio raised an eyebrow at the simplicity of his question but decided to answer anyway, "Yes, I'm actually a fine arts major in studio art. The class I had following Professor Colossus' was Intermediate Painting."

"What, no way! That's really cool, Lio. I'm also a fine arts major," the nerves finally fell out of Galo's ears, distracted by how impressed he was with Lio's choice of major.

Lio wavered for a moment, his cheeks quickly flushing champagne before propping his elbow on the table and placing his chin in his palm. Galo wondered if he overstepped somehow, his heart beginning to sink to the heel of his foot, but relief quickly came in waves as Lio smiled at him once more.

"Let me guess, photography?"

"Yeah!" Galo picked up his camera and began fumbling with it, "I've been takin' pictures since disposable cameras were a thing, so you know, a long time!" Every bit of apprehension left without a trace as Galo turned on his DSLR.

Lio huffed out a breathy giggle, "I admire your enthusiasm. Speaking of taking pictures, when are you going to show me the one you took of me?"

Galo felt his chest tighten, but only momentarily as he scanned the planes of Lio's face. There was no ulterior motive tucked away, only glimmering curiosity swimming behind a pair of glasses.

"Uh, sure. Let me pull it up," he flipped through the photos he took for the day until he finally found it. This time, he couldn't help but quietly gasp, unsure if he'd ever get used to Lio's splendor being framed by goldenrod hues. He hesitantly passed his camera over to Lio, who made sure to carefully grab it with an attentive touch.

Galo watched as Lio's eyes widened as large as sunsets, his brows skyrocketing up in tandem. He's lips parted slightly as he lifted his glasses to perch them on his head. The champagne hovering over his cheeks deepened into a rosy peach.

Galo realized Lio was absolutely flustered, and he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Hey so, I...I'm not exactly sure why I took the picture, my hands kinda just moved on their own when the leaves started twirling around. I have a portfolio assignment for my photography class, and I was struggling with coming up with a theme. Seeing you with all those leaves and stuff was just...inspiring. I can delete it if you wa—"

"Don't."

"What?"

Lio turned to him, eyes big and round and absolutely glimmering with flattered exuberance. His peachy cheeks were pushed up by a wonderfully big smile, and Galo was starting to suspect those silly stories about Cupid's arrow that Aina and Varys liked to tell had some meaningful weight to them.

_Beautiful._

"Don't delete this," Lio let out a laugh, "it's extraordinary. The colors, the composition...Galo, you're very talented," he stared at the photo for another moment before gingerly passing Galo his camera back.

Galo wondered if his cheeks were just as painted peach as Lio's. He scratched the back of his head, a tiny bit of nerves tickling his fingertips, "Thanks! I was hoping to include it in my portfolio, if that's okay."

"Yes, it's definitely okay," Lio checked the time on his phone, "let's continue studying, though. I have to leave in about thirty minutes."

"Oh, same! Let's get crackin'."

Galo found it astonishingly easy to converse and spend time with Lio. They were very much in sync as they poured over the material, gently correcting each other when they had the chance. They would get distracted here and there, Lio having to suppress a loud giggle every so often as Galo told some ridiculous jokes, who never repressed a laugh as Lio told some of his, earning them an earful of shushing from the other students.

They walked out of the library together, stopping right in front of the doors as they breathed in the evening air. Galo stared at the celestial bodies sprinkling the sky, the chirping of crickets singing in sync with the sparkle of the stars. Galo decided they didn't hold a candle to the marvel of Lio's eyes. He turned to face him and found him already staring back, causing the both of them to flush once again.

"Hey, Lio."

"Hmm?"

"This might be a weird ask but," Galo hesitated to take a deep breath, buying himself some time to work up the courage to ask his question, "would it be okay if I took another picture of you sometime? I think I know what kind of theme I want for my portfolio and it'd be a big help."

Lio's smile was reassuring and so _warm_ , filling Galo's head with a tender coziness he wasn't ready for. He truly felt like his soul was burning.

"I think I'd like that. It's like I'm your muse," Lio quietly laughed, "but on one condition."

"Yeah, anything you want!" Galo winced at how suggestive that sounded, but Lio didn't seem to mind.

"You can take more pictures of me if you let me paint a portrait of you," Lio stepped just a little bit closer. There was still plenty of space between them, but Galo could feel his cheeks swirl from a subtle peach to a deep vermillion,"you're not the only one with end of the semester assignments, nor the only one who has been struck by inspiration."

"U-uh, yeah sure," Galo blinked once, twice, then gently slapped the sides of his face, "absolutely! I'd love to help you out," he extended his hand and Lio took hold of it, his nimble fingers wrapping around Galo's palm, causing one more electrical current to jolt through Galo and settle in his chest.

Lio gave him one more smile, "It's a deal, then."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Lio couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was about Galo Thymos that made him trust so unconditionally, there were several potential factors to sort through. Galo’s large and defined smile coupled with his bombastic and splendid demeanor was inviting and good in a way that made Lio’s pulse quicken and palms numb. And of course those eyes made of pure celeste as clear and as bright as a quiet river, harboring a red treasure at their center as if they were taunting Lio to dive right into their depths and snatch it each time he stared didn’t make it any easier to resist the loud allure of his new friend._
> 
> _I’m incredibly fucked._

“So, let me get this straight,” Gueira started as he flipped a chicken breast in a sizzling pan. “This random guy you don’t even know takes a picture of you in the oak field, and instead of confronting him about it, like a normal Lio thing to do, you decide to become his friend. Am I getting that right?”

“Yes, but I don’t understand why you’re in such a huff about it.” Lio rolled his eyes while he added the finishing touches to his current commission: a portrait of a rather plump russian blue on a mini-canvas. He realized halfway through the second eye that it didn’t quite match the reference photo. What should have been two bright eyes as green as peridot staring back at him were actually two magnificent irises flushed cerulean, framed by indigo hues in small, gentle strokes with a curious spot of red in the middle that reminded him of a certain photography major. Lio wasn’t too worried about it, it was an easy fix and he already finished the rest of the portrait. What was a little worrisome was how his mind seemed to be completely and utterly enveloped in thoughts full of sparkling cerulean irises as rapturous as light summer days and a ridiculous yet charming blue head of hair.

“Huh!? Why _wouldn’t_ I get huffy about it? This guy does the creepiest thing ever and you just decide to be buddy buddy with him! Excuse me for being a little worried about your safety.”

“He’s not creepy,” Lio snapped, surprising himself with how quickly anger seeped into his pores and weighed heavy on his skin. “Stop that.”

Gueira closed the oven door with his hip, shoving a pan of roasted carrots onto the kitchen counter as he winced at the pointed edge of Lio’s tone. “Listen, I’m not trying to rag on your new...friend. I’m just sayin’, be careful.”

“Well, stop worrying about it. Galo is completely harmless.” Lio punctuated his declaration with one last humble flick of his brush, completing his commission and sighing in relief. He was able to fix the eyes, both of them staring back as bright and as green as a pair of limes. Still, Lio couldn’t help but feel a strange churn in his stomach, twisting something warm and soft and sweet as he half-wished he never painted over that impossible shade of blue. That shade of blue which so easily reflected Galo’s honesty, so easily peeled back the first layer of Lio’s apprehensive nature as they just _looked_ at him with a sort of reverence that snuck its way onto the curve of his cheeks and the tips of his ears in the form of a rosy hue. Lio found that looking into Galo’s eyes was easy, they offered a hushed comfort which elicited a reckless trusting nature Lio didn’t know he even possessed.

Lio couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was about Galo Thymos that made him trust so unconditionally, there were several potential factors to sort through. Galo’s large and defined smile coupled with his bombastic and splendid demeanor was inviting and _good_ in a way that made Lio’s pulse quicken and palms numb. And of course those eyes made of pure celeste as clear and as bright as a quiet river, harboring a red treasure at their center as if they were taunting Lio to dive right into their depths and snatch it each time he stared didn’t make it any easier to resist the loud allure of his new friend.

_I’m incredibly fucked._

“He better be harmless,” Gueira declared as he assembled their dinner and tightened his headband around his fluffy red ponytail. “Otherwise, I’ll—”

”Give it a rest, dear,” Meis called from the living room, not looking up from his homework. “Lio can handle himself. Besides,” he craned his neck to look at Lio from the couch, eyes as dark and as indigo as early midnight piercing through long strands of equally dark hair, “didn’t you mention Galo throwing his pen across a lecture hall? Seems like he doesn’t have enough bulbs to light up any sort of malicious plot.” He snickered in tandem with Gueira’s cackle, adding more weight to Lio’s skin as his frustration threatened to boil over.

“Meis, if you’re insinuating that Galo is an idiot, you should take a long hard look at your choice of partner and reconsider.” His roommates laughed even louder, and Lio took off his glasses and rushed to his room to set his portrait out to dry.

Lio took a deep breath and paced around his room, hands perched on the top of his head with eyes sewn shut. His chest felt a little tight, as if leafy vines snaked their way through his rib cage and constricted around the edges of his bones just enough to hitch his chest for a little discomfort.

He couldn’t believe how flustered he’d become at the thought of the awestruck wonder that sparkled off the surface of cerulean when he first caught Galo staring, how frustrated he’d gotten with his roommates for teasing his new friend, and how annoyed he was at himself for relishing in the tightness of his chest as he felt those vines snake around his center each time he thought about that chiseled jaw and those broad shoulders. He felt a warm sensation bloom from his chest and crawl up his cheeks.

Gueira’a voice cut through Lio’s muffled steps, who for the first time that evening was grateful to hear his voice.

”Come on, Lio! We were just kidding! Your food is gonna get cold!”

Lio dragged his feet through the threshold of his room and was greeted by two apologetic stares and a plate full of food. He still couldn’t help the roll of his eyes as he plopped down on the couch, squishing in between the pair as he hovered over his dinner on the coffee table. He struggled to stay frustrated long, the smell of Gueira’s most recent creation unfolding in the air, white blankets of steam sprinkled with herbs and spices caressing the tip of his nose while his stomach growled in response.

Meis gently placed his lithe hand on Lio’s shoulder. “We’re sorry for upsetting you.”

”Yeah, we shouldn’t have teased your crush so much, our bad,” Gueira reassured while nudging Lio towards his dinner. “Now eat! I worked really hard on this one, and I need opinions.”

“I don’t have a crush on him!” Gueira and Meis grinned at each other, forcing Lio’s cheeks to betray him once more, flushing the palest of pinks while he grabbed his dish. His temporary anger seeped out of his body, though, making way for the ravenous grumblings of his stomach. “Gueira, this looks really good. What is it?”

“Miso butter chicken with roasted rainbow carrots and spaghetti! I made it in class the other day and they let me take a bunch of ingredients home. You’ll like the sweetness of the chicken, trust me.”

“Are you sure they actually let you take the ingredients home, or did your sticky fingers make a return?”

“Ah, gimme a break, Meis! You know me better than that.”

Meis smiled a small little thing, barely creasing the corners of his mouth as Gueira blushed as vermillion as his eyes. “I know, I was just checking.” Lio wondered if he could evoke a similar reaction full of adoration from Galo and quickly shook the thought out of his head, shoveling a mouthful of food to give himself anything else to do other than allow his hopeless daydreams to wander too far.

Gueira’s dish was incredible. He certainly exemplified the skills he garnered over the last couple years at the university’s culinary school. Lio couldn’t help but shut his eyes in tandem with his pleased hum as he chewed through his meal, the sweetness of the sauce coating his taste buds and warming his demeanor. Perhaps he was biased because Gueira was his friend, or perhaps it was because he really didn’t have a frame of reference for tasty home-cooked meals since his childhood was void of anything made fresh from a kitchen, but Lio decided Gueira was the best cook on the planet, which seared off any lingering frustrations he may have had towards his friends.

“Gueira, this is so good,” he commended.

“Thanks! I figured this dish would be a sneaky way to get you to eat vegetables.”

Lio’s scoff was followed by laughter, the trio falling into a comfortable evening rhythm wrapped in light, whimsical jabs and the aroma of a meal made with care. They browsed through some television until they finally settled on a dating show where two handfuls of contestants competed to win the affection of one lucky bachelor. The three of them aggressively asserted they only enjoyed the show because of how entertainingly horrendous it was, although Lio would never admit to finding himself fully enraptured during some of the eliminations. One of the contestants sported a large grin and a familiar shade of blue hair, but the grin wasn’t quite as dazzling as Lio wished it was, and their hair wasn’t quite the right shade of azure that further amplified the pressure in his chest. The other participants wouldn’t stop mentioning how much of a fool they thought this particular contestant was, the mean familiarity of it all causing Lio to remember a certain new friend of his declaring something self-deprecating and a little cruel.

“He’s not an idiot,” Lio blurted.

“Uh, what?” Confusion spread across Gueira’s face as Meis simply sighed for forgiveness.

“Galo,” Lio clarified. “You guys made it seem like you thought he was an idiot. Well, he’s not. He’s actually pretty intelligent, he’s just...a bit of a goof.” Lio brought one of his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on it before continuing. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t make those assumptions again.”

Meis rested his head on Lio’s shoulder while Gueira followed suit on the other.

“I promise we won’t say those things about him again.”

“Yeah, and when you finally invite him over, I bet he’ll have enough smarts to recognize my culinary genius.”

Lio smiled, never one to truly hold a grudge over his friends.

It was late by the time he retired to his room, but the prickly and uneasy sensation sparking at his fingertips was leaving him restless, residual heat lingering at the edges from something he couldn’t quite pinpoint. He decided to set up his easel and get to work on an assignment that wasn’t due until Friday; he figured he could put his fidgety energy to good use.

After Lio put his glasses back on and spread a wide range of paint all plump and colorful on a paper plate, he dipped his brush in a vivid shade of blue and began to work.

He found his rhythm, ametrine gaze pointed and focused as he flicked his wrist left and right and up and down, manipulating the bristles of his paintbrush, creating a visual symphony of powder blue and marigold and cider marrying each other with declarations jumping off the canvas in wide, broad strokes.

Lio lost track of time, losing himself into what he considered a fairly simple piece. After one final stroke of amber, he leaned back and stared, taking in every flourish of paint swirling in front him. He could feel his face relax into a smile, and a quiet laugh escaped his lips.

A knock on his door interrupted the champagne flush blooming on his skin. 

“Come in.”

Meis poked his navy head in before fully walking through. He placed a hand on Lio’s shoulder, dark eyes darting all over the canvas as they widened and narrowed at different aspects of Lio’s piece.

“I just wanted to check in on you, it’s almost two in the morning.” Gentle concern danced along the syllables of Meis’s words, and Lio felt a small surge of comfort. 

“Yeah, I’m okay, just a little restless.” He reached towards the ceiling to stretch his back out.

Meis’s eyes glazed over his painting once more. “I like this a lot, it’s different from what you usually paint. These strokes are broader and quicker, feeling inspired?”

“The assignment is to paint in a different style, so I figured what a better time to get slightly experimental than in the middle of a Monday night.”

“Hmm. Oranges, huh? Can I ask why?” Meis turned his gaze to Lio, who couldn’t bring himself to meet it. He looked over his work, which illustrated a simple wooden table tucked away in a kitchen corner with cerulean blue walls. It was adorned with a wicker basket full of oranges and a delicate white plate topped with citrus cut in half, orange juice bleeding out of the sparkling flesh.

Lio shrugged. “I guess I just had a craving.”

Meis gave his shoulder one final squeeze before making his exit. “Get some sleep.”

After hearing the door click, Lio let out a long sigh while the very faint blush returned to tease his cheeks. 

_Galo smells like oranges._

+

Lio winced at every splash of water that bled through his jeans as he stomped on the wet asphalt, desperately trying to escape the assault of rain which showed no signs of relenting. He’d woken up terribly late, unable to check the weather to properly prepare himself for the cold, unforgiving storm that decided to grace Promepolis that morning, not even finding himself lucky enough to have found the flimsy umbrella he usually carried with him, because _of course_ it wouldn’t be in his bag on this particularly monsoon-ish morning.

To make matters worse, he was a little lost, needing to make his way towards the engineering building. He remembered the glass structure sat next to the library, but the rain was pouring down so heavily and the campus was so large, Lio couldn’t accurately read the signs pointing him in the right direction, and he refused to take his glasses out when it poured so relentlessly.

He gave up and ran towards the humanities building, finding reprieve under its large roof as he sighed against its concrete wall. He stared out ahead of him, watching the storm pelt into the ground in a heavy, hazy sheen of static. He took note of his appearance, his clothes soaked through and through, the thin turtleneck having been a poor choice in hindsight as it clung cold to his skin. Lio pinched the bridge of his nose, furrowed brows wrinkling with his frown.

_Why is a freshman math class in the damn engineering building? ___

____

____

“Lio?”

Lio could smell the faint aroma of citrus before whipping his head towards Galo, who towered over him with the biggest umbrella he’d ever seen. Lio tried his best to keep his gaze focused on the planes of his face, tried to tether his stare to those bright eyes as clear as rivers or maybe even his sharp jaw, anything but the broadness of his chest or the way one of his biceps snuck below the sleeve of his red shirt. He especially tried not to stare at the protective sleeve that wrapped around his left arm, that would just be plain rude. So he turned away to stare at the rain again, which at this point had shifted its course to fall sideways.

_As enormous as this campus is, of course I’d run into him while I look like a sopping mess._

“Hello, Galo.”

“I’m glad I ran into you! I realized last night we never exchanged numbers.”

Lio smiled at that. “Oh, you were thinking about me last night, were you?”

The sangria hues that instantly splashed over Galo’s face were enough to elicit a small giggle from Lio, who wondered when in the world he ever became such a flirt.

“It wasn’t like that! I was thinking since we said we’d help each other out with our projects, we should figure out how to go about that asap. And also I just…,” Galo ran his hand through his blue field of hair and Lio couldn’t help but ponder what it would feel like to card his own fingers through strands made of cobalt, “wanted to see how you were doing, we are friends after all!”

Hearing the word _friends_ conjured up a strange juxtaposition of feelings in the pit of Lio’s stomach. On the one hand, he was pleased to hear the warmth accompanied by the title. On the other more selfish hand, Lio felt a small pang of bitterness web itself through the warmth. Still, he knew he was being slightly dramatic, this was only their second encounter after all. 

“I suppose you’re right, but I don’t have much time to discuss it right now. I have about ten minutes to make it to my algebra class all the way in the engineering building, but I don’t really know how to get there from here, and the rain isn’t helping.”

“Oh, no worries! I know exactly where to go from here. I was actually headed that way to meet up with my friend Lucia, I can walk you there! But first,” Lio felt Galo’s gaze assess his current situation and it took every ounce of will not to shudder in embarrassment, “you’re soaked, you’ll get sick if you don’t change! I can’t really help you out with your pants, but I have something you can swap your top out for. Hold on to this for a sec.” Galo shoved his umbrella into Lio’s hand so he could rummage through his bag to pull out a black and gray flannel. “It might be a little big on you, but it’s better than you getting sick! I’ll wait for you out here while you go change in the bathroom.”

Lio was stunned for a moment, unable to process Galo’s generosity. He tentatively accepted the flannel, though. Anything was better than the feeling of wet cotton sticky on his skin.

“Thank you, I won’t be long.”

‘A little big’ turned out to be an understatement as the hem of the flannel hovered over his mid-thigh, and he had to roll up the sleeves so as to not allow them to hang well past his hands. He would have felt ridiculous, but he figured the oversized flannel was something he could easily pull off. Lio tried not to let his mind linger on the scent of oranges wafting from the fabric and tickling his nose.

Galo looked up as Lio walked out of the humanities building, the latter unable to hide his smirk as the former failed to hide a blush.

”Let’s go! I’d hate for you to be late when I could have gotten you there a little faster.”

Lio walked as close to Galo as he possibly could without touching him, thankful for the size of the umbrella. The rain seemed to relax as they traversed the campus, no longer impaling the air sideways in cold white sheets. They walked in a comfortable silence for a bit, and Lio found himself feeling cozy in the warmth of Galo’s flannel as well the presence of the man himself.

Still, he felt a small pang of apprehension growing in his chest, protruding out the vines wrapped around his ribs in the form of sharp thorns puncturing his center.

“How did you get so caught in the rain?” Galo broke the silence first, and he startled Lio out of his unease.

“I’m not really a morning person and I woke up too late, missing my chance to hitch a ride with my roommates. So after scrambling to get ready, I didn’t have the time to brace myself for the rain. Otherwise, I would have missed the train.”

“Wait, if you’re not a morning person, why do you have such an early class?”

“Because it would appear that I’m a big fool,” Lio sighed.

Galo laughed at that. “Don’t say that! Now you know to register for more afternoon classes for spring semester. Oh, and if you ever need a ride to and from school, feel free to ask. Sometimes I’ll ride with my roommates, but I don’t mind scooping you up.”

“Trying to figure out where I live already?”

It was so easy to fluster Galo, and Lio thought he’d never get used to it.

“No! I, uh, was just saying...I wouldn’t want you to get caught in the rain or the snow or whatever, you looked so cold.”

Lio clenched his jaw for a moment to keep a threatening blush in check, caught off guard by Galo’s sincerity once again.

“I’m just kidding. I’d really appreciate it, actually. You’re incredibly kind, Galo.”

“I like helping people, especially my friends. Plus, it’ll give me a chance to not lean on my roommates too often. Sometimes I think I annoy them.”

Lio _hated_ the drop in Galo’s tone at the mention of the possibility of frustrating his friends. “I’m sure they don’t think that and must like having you around if they’re willing to live with you. How many roommates do you have?”

“Four! I live with two couples, Aina and Lucia along with Remi and Varys. We’ve been friends since our freshman year of high school and decided to shack up together to make the rent cheaper.”

“You live with _four_ other people? It must be quite the living arrangement. Do you have any privacy?”

“Definitely! I have my own room, even though it’s the smallest one in the apartment. We get along really well and are super mindful of each other. Besides, it’s rare we’re all home at the same time, so it works out. What about you?”

“It’s a little similar to your situation. I met my two roommates, Gueira and Meis, while I was in high school, but they’re a couple years older. They’ve been together for as long as I can remember, but they’ve never made me feel weird about taking root in their place.” Lio smiled at the thought of his two closest friends, grateful for how willing they were to take him in.

“That’s good to hear! Ha, looks like we’re both eligible bachelors.”

“Maybe that’ll change soon,” Lio dared, closing the distance between the two by way of brushing his arm against Galo’s.

Galo tried his best to stifle a choke, coughing alongside the pitter patter of the rain trickling on top of the umbrella. Lio, ignoring the sirens blaring in the back of his head, simply snuggled a little closer to him.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, the rain having transformed into a soft drizzle by the time they reached the glass doors of the engineering building.

“Well, we made it. Thank you for walking with me. Hopefully, I won’t get so hopelessly lost again.”

“Any time! I’ll text you tonight so we can set up a schedule for our projects, I guess.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

They both stared at each other, unsure of how they should say goodbye. Lio couldn’t tear his eyes away from Galo’s, feeling his feet sinking further and further into warm pools of water.

He could drown.

“If I don’t get moving, your efforts would have been for nothing, and we can’t have that. I’ll see you later, Galo.”

“Yeah, I’ll text you!”

Later on that evening, after Lio settled into his pile of comforters following a rather long and boring homework session consisting of too much algebra and not enough astronomy, he heard his phone buzz on his nightstand. The text that illuminated his dark room highlighted the growing grin on his face as he read the words that started a new conversation. Lio swore his heart would burst out of his chest at any moment. 

**[Galo]:** hey! was thinkin about u and thought we should try to schedule a time for u to paint and for me to take ur pictures

 **[Me]:** Thinking about me so late at night again are we?

 **[Galo]:** no!

 **[Galo]:** i mean yes!

 **[Galo]:** i mean...ah...

 **[Me]:** You’re incredibly easy to tease, you know that?

 **[Galo]:** lio…

 **[Me]:** : )

 **[Me]:** Anyway, how do you feel about coming over on Friday to get your portrait painted?

 **[Galo]:** i’ll be there!

 **[Me]:** Wonderful. I should be going to sleep soon. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Galo.

 **[Galo]:** right ur not a morning person, u gotta get ur beauty sleep!

 **[Me:]** Beauty sleep, huh?

 **[Galo]:** night lio!

_Beauty sleep?_

+

The week billowed away in a blur, and Lio quickly fell into a routine with Galo. He’d meet up with him in class on the days they had Professor Biar’s lectures, and they’d study in the library together after Lio’s painting class. On every other day, they’d meet each other at the humanities building and walk towards the engineering building, making sure to see each other again in the library in the early afternoons.

Lio found that the afternoons spent with Galo in the library were his favorite. It fluctuated between comfortable silences and hushed conversations sprinkled with whispered humor and soft sincerity. There was something about how easy it was to lean into the bright blue brilliance of Galo Thymos, how his cocky grin and azure stare chipped away at the carefully constructed armor Lio always wore. He found out that Galo’s favorite color was red, his favorite food was margherita pizza, and his favorite season was summer.

He picked up on Galo’s small nuances as well; the way he’d run his fingers through his hair when he was nervous, how he’d always sit on Lio’s right when they studied because Lio was left-handed, how his gaze would never waver each time Lio spoke, hanging on to every word like a lifeline. Lio even noticed how Galo only ever used the pen he’d given him, forcing an electrifying sensation to trickle up the nape of his neck.

Despite the simple serenity he felt any time he was around Galo, Lio couldn’t help but pace around his apartment as he waited for him. He was glad to have chosen Friday, Meis and Gueira usually went out at the end of the week to catch up with one another. Lio always teased them for it, they did live together after all, hadn’t they spent enough time with each other? He was grateful for it on that particular Friday, however. He didn’t think he could take the teasing, much less allow Galo to fall victim to their snarky tongues.

But it wasn’t just nerves. There was something sharp and subtle pricking the back of his mind each time he thought about Galo; it was telling him to run, to stop, to push him away until he disappeared and left him alone. Lio did a good job at ignoring it for the most part, but in the quiet anticipation of his apartment, it was becoming increasingly overwhelming. Before he could text Galo to forget their whole arrangement, he was luckily disrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hey, Lio!” Galo boomed through the threshold of the front door. He lifted up two styrofoam cups topped with whipped cream. “I grabbed us some milkshakes. You really like strawberry ones, right?”

“Yes, those are usually the ones I prefer,” he responded as he ushered Galo inside.

“Wow, I really like your place! It’s super clean.”

“You sound surprised. Do I seem messy?”

What Lio’s shared apartment lacked in space, it definitely made up for in cleanliness, especially when one had Gueira as a roommate. He was used to constantly keeping his space clean during his time in the school kitchens, so he whipped Lio and Meis into shape any time they made anything that could slightly resemble a mess. The sheen on their dark wooden furniture glossed in the glow of their living room light, and the fabric of their gray couch was soft and immaculate. Every picture that dotted the beige walls was void of a single spec of dust, and each plant taking solace in the corners were trimmed with precision.

“Not at all, it’s just when you told me you roomed with someone from the culinary school and a music major, I expected more clutter.”

“Gueira would have our heads served with haricot verts and a sweet potato purée before he’d let us leave any sort of mess lying around.” Lio tugged on Galo’s sleeve and led him towards the living room. “Come on, I’ve already set up in the living room, so we can spend a little time enjoying these milkshakes, which by the way, thank you.”

“Any time!”

They plopped down on the couch, making casual conversation as they enjoyed their cold desserts. Lio noticed Galo’s gaze periodically darting towards his easel that sat in the middle of the living room, eyeing it up and down as if it would stride over and slap him across the face with one of its wooden legs.

“Galo, are you nervous?”

“A little? I’ve never had my portrait painted before.”

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to, I would hate for you to feel uncomfortable.”

“No, I want to, I promise! I just don’t want to mess you up, somehow.”

“I promise any mistakes made will all be made on my part,” Lio reassured, gently placing a hand on Galo’s knee. “If it makes you feel better, this is really just a practice run. The lighting in here is a little too dark for my liking.”

Lio watched Galo’s eyes linger on his hand before he slowly withdrew it.

“Yeah, that kinda helps. I also wasn’t sure on what I should wear? So I hope a plain black shirt is okay. Neutral is good, right? Unless you want me to take it off or something.” The flush of scarlet that blossomed on his cheeks was immediate as the weight of his words hung heavy in the air. Lio bit the inside of his cheek to chase away the image of a shirtless Galo posing as the subject of his painting.

“What you have on is just fine. Unless, you want to take your shirt off,” he teased.

Lio didn’t think such a deep shade of red could exist so easily on someone’s complexion, but there it was, making its way throughout the entirety of Galo’s face.

“I mean, I’ll do it if you want. I don’t get naked for fun, after all.”

Lio let out a breathy laugh. “Oh please, I’m sure someone of your handsome stature gets plenty naked for fun fairly often.”

There was a pause before Galo responded, and Lio felt a welt of guilt pelt his chest.

“Actually, no. I’ve...never gotten naked for fun.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to tell me that, I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay, really! I don’t mind sharing that with you.”

“Well, I think it’s only fair I share as well. I’ve also never gotten naked for fun.”

Galo’s pupils went as wide as saucers. Lio would have found it incredibly adorable had it not been for the topic of conversation.

“What!? Really? Not even one time?”

“No, never. Why is that so surprising? I’m starting to think you have a very specific perception of me.”

“Wait, no! It’s not that, it’s just...well, you’re so—”

“I’m so _what?_ “

Lio wasn’t sure why he was suddenly so annoyed, why he cared so much about what Galo thought of him; it’s not like it really mattered.

“You’re so _stunning._ “

“Oh.”

Lio looked down at his half-finished milkshake, desperately trying to hide the peach peaks of his cheeks through his blonde strands of hair. He forced himself to look up and meet Galo’s stare, who looked absolutely mortified at his admission.

“Well, that’s very flattering. Thank you, Galo.”

“Yeah…”

They finished their milkshakes in silence, quietly trying to relax in the sudden stillness of the apartment before Lio finally stood up and directed Galo to the chair behind his easel.

“Come on, let’s get started.”

Galo’s cocky grin returned. “Absolutely!”

Lio waited for Galo to settle into the seat, blue eyebrows furrowing slightly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah! I was just wondering if you wanted me to take off my arm sleeve.” He tugged at it nervously, clearly underscoring his self-consciousness about it. Lio wanted to ask for the story, but thought he should save it for another day.

“Oh no, feel free to leave it on. Now, do me a favor and sit up straight.”

Galo followed Lio’s directions, tilting his head this way and that, following the nimble flip of Lio’s finger until he was satisfied with his pose.

Lio sat in front of his easel, peeking over the side to get one more look at Galo before he began. He was met with a sparkling grin and a cheeky thumbs up. A laugh escaped his lips.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but please stay still.”

“Oh, right!”

Lio put on his glasses, dipped his brush into a plump pile of paint, and began to work. It was easy for him to lose himself in his art. Truthfully, it was always easy. But with Galo just a few feet away posing as the object of his desire, all positive with willing compliance with no strings attached, it was even easier.

With every stroke of his brush, every glance over the canvas, every swipe of black and blue and the bright and dull variants in between, Lio learned a lot about Galo. He learned of the dimples that kissed the corners of his mouth as he brushed small, gentle strokes onto a plane of olive tones. He learned of Galo’s chapped lips, wondering how often he sunk his teeth into the plush of his skin with every jagged graze of pink and white blending into each other. He learned of the freckle situated on his right ear lobe with a tiny dot of carob, of the slight crook of his nose as he changed the course of his bristles, and the way the strands of his hair swerved every which way with every pointed flourish of pacific blue.

But Lio learned the most about his eyes, the eyes he thought he already knew so well just having replicated them from memory earlier in the week. He learned of Galo’s soft determination in melted hues of cerulean, of his deep compassion sparkling through the opulence of topaz, and of his unwavering goodness with a swirl of cardinal red right at the center.

Lio didn’t notice the gradual flush of heat that flickered on his face until he stood up to fix Galo’s pose. He walked close to Galo, gently cradling his chin and slowly turning his face slightly to the right. His fingers went numb, the realization that he was touching Galo so tenderly dawning on him a little late. He felt his friend’s skin prickle with warmth under his touch.

They were fixed on each other, unsure of what to do with the sudden proximity. Lio felt those vines coil and constrict around his chest until he was almost left breathless, his head feeling foggy and his throat going dry. His knees almost buckled as he watched Galo’s hand reach for his face.

“Lio, you have some paint on your skin. Here.” Galo gently brushed his skin over the reddening surface of Lio’s cheek with his thumb. They were quiet once again, and Lio wasn’t sure who was blushing a deeper shade of crimson.

“Thanks. I’m almost done, I just need you to sit still for another ten minutes.”

After fixing Galo’s posture once more, Lio finally finished his painting, smiling at the result as he took off his glasses.

“Okay, I’m finished. You can relax now.”

“Nice, can I see it?”

Lio adored the ardor in his voice. “Yes, I was going to set it in my room to dry. Come with me.”

Galo followed him into his room, and the gasp he exhaled as Lio turned on the light startled Lio into almost dropping the painting. 

“Lio, your room is a mess! Why are there so many cat portraits?”

Lio winced at his observation, his eyes finding purchase on random pieces of canvas and paper strewn about, clean clothes hanging haphazardly off his closet doors, brushes scattered all over his already cluttered desk. 

“It’s...seen better days, and I make money off pet portrait commissions.”

“Really? That’s great, making money doing the thing you love. Also, it’s not like you have food everywhere or anything, you’re just a little messy. At least you’ve got my flannel taken care of.” Galo pointed to his desk chair, which was draped with the black and gray flannel he’d lent him during that rainy day.

“Oh yes. Sorry, I kept forgetting to return it, but now you’re here so—”

“Keep it.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I said keep it. I never use it anyway.”

“Are you sure?” The thought of keeping an article of clothing from Galo and _wearing_ it made something light and airy flutter in the pit of his stomach.

“Yeah! Now let me see the portrait.”

Lio nodded while he placed the painting on his desk to dry. He turned to Galo, watching his reaction with bated breath as those chapped lips opened ever so slightly and his eyes widened in admiration. Galo was so shamelessly easy to read, but Lio decided it was his favorite thing about his friend. For now.

“Lio, this is amazing!”

“It’s not my best since it was just a bit of practice for the real thing, but thank you.”

“Really, it’s...it’s…” Galo flailed his arm about to get his point across, which earned him a soft laugh from Lio, “so good!”

“Stop that before you make me blush.”

Galo whipped his head towards Lio, a large and dazzling smile shining brighter than any shade of yellow used to paint the sun.

“You’re...really something special, Lio.”

Lio didn’t know what to say to that, he was too focused on trying to keep himself from collapsing at not only the kindness of Galo’s remark, but also at the sheer honesty caressing the words.

He was able to center himself, though, and found the middle ground between leaning into such tenderness and running away.

“It’s getting a little late, I should show you to the door.” Before Galo’s face could falter, Lio continued, “I’m looking forward to having my picture taken by you.”

“Yeah, definitely!”

After Lio closed the door behind them, he turned to say goodbye to Galo, almost running face first into his chest.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize how close to you I was standing.”

“I-it’s okay.” Lio could count on one hand the amount of times he’s unintentionally stammered throughout his life. This was number four.

“Well, I had a really good time getting my portrait painted! But,” Lio’s heart sank at that transition, bracing himself for the oncoming abandonment, “I think we should hang out without schoolwork being involved. I want to meet your friends, and I want you to meet mine. I think we’d all have a lot of fun together.”

If Lio had any doubts about whether or not he was completely and utterly fucked, they were all gone now.

“Yes, I agree. I’d really love that, actually.”

“Awesome. Well, I better get going. It’s getting late.” He outstretched a fist, beckoning Lio to bump it. Lio couldn’t stop the smile that spread on his face as he met Galo halfway.

They broke away and Galo beamed at him one more time before walking down the hall.

“See ya later, Lio! I’ll text you.”

“See you, Galo.”

Lio slowly walked back into his apartment, suddenly drained of all his energy. He leaned against the front door, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He brought both of his knees against his chest and rested his chin right on top. He breathed in the lingering smell of citrus and closed his eyes.

_Fuck._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Galo slowly sat up and raised his camera. He stared through the viewfinder for several moments before snapping the shutter one last time, reveling in the breathless, tender vision of Lio Fotia sprawled in a sea of lilac._

Galo tried not to pay too much attention to the way Varys and Lucia snickered into each other’s ears as he paced back and forth under the usual oak tree, fidgeting with the settings on his camera. The faint coolness of autumn as it edged closer and closer to winter was a welcome change for Galo, but despite the occasional cool breeze that breathed along the base of his neck, he still found himself sweating with nerves.

Aina looked up from her textbook and sighed, “Galo, can you stop pacing around so much? You have nothing to be nervous about.”

“Yeah, what do you think is gonna happen? Lucia and I won’t embarrass you too badly.” Varys offered. Lucia snorted before slapping him on the back.

“You guys are terrible,” Remi gave Galo a reassuring look, but soon tried to hide a laugh as he leaned his head on Varys’s shoulder. 

“Ugh, please just...act normal!” Galo ran a hand through his hair, and he found himself counting the beads of sweat trickling down his spine. “I really think you guys would like Lio, but you won’t get the chance if you scare him away.”

“I don’t think it’s Lio you should be worried about,” Lucia’s smile was absolutely devilish, and Galo could only huff out his frustration before Aina perked up at something behind him.

“Looks like you’re going to have to get over yourself, your future husband is walking this way.” Before Galo could yell at Aina for being so loud with such incredulous declarations, he turned around and felt his cheeks push right up to his eyes as a grin spread wide and wild across his face.

Galo spent time with Lio every day for the last few weeks, but he could never help the way a comforting heat bloomed from his center every time he saw him, all wispy edges curling under the warm, glistening curtain of the sun. It was like a crackling hearth settled in Galo’s chest, cozy and snug and homey. It was especially evident in the shade of vermillion that found itself blooming on his face.

_Man, do I really have it this bad?_

Lio was accompanied by the two friends Galo saw when he took the picture of him for the first time, and while Lio graced him with a small smile as he stepped closer, his two friends gave Galo very pointed glares, who shivered under the edge.

Either Lio didn’t notice his companions effectively kicking Galo’s ass with just their stares, or he simply didn’t care because he easily strode up right next to him and looked up to give Galo another small smile.

“Hey,” was all Lio said and it was all it took for Galo to seemingly melt under the tender tenor of his voice. His gaze lingered over to a blonde strand of hair billowing in front of Lio’s face, and he reached out to tuck it behind his ear. He could feel a strange sort of numbness envelope his palm and travel to his fingertips, but the soft blush on Lio’s face highlighted by the sun was completely worth the sensation.

Galo forgot all about his own friends and Lio’s friends and really every other kind of friend and acquaintance and person before a tan hand gripped his wrist just before his fingers could brush along blonde velvet.

“Whatcha’ think you’re doing there, bud?” Galo was met with a fiery gaze as red as carmine with a fluffy head of hair to match.

“What do you think _you’re_ doing, Gueira?” Lio slapped his friend’s hand away, but not before his _other_ friend gave Galo a slight shove at his shoulder.

“You’re getting too close there, maybe take a few steps back, yeah?” This time Galo was looking at a dark pair of eyes as matte as midnight covered by a few strands of navy hair.

“Alright, enough!” Lio tugged on his friends’ shoulders and pulled them backwards until they stumbled a few steps. “You guys promised me you wouldn’t heckle him.”

“We were just teasin’, no harm done,” Another playful red leer crashed into Galo. “I’m Gueira, Lio’s best friend and all. No funny business, alright?” Gueira extended a hand, and Galo accepted it with a grin.

“Yeah, no harm no foul! I’m Galo, but maybe you already know that?” Lio let out a breathy giggle, and a snort erupted from behind Galo that sounded suspiciously like Lucia.

“Meis…” Lio nudged his other friend towards Galo, and Gueira gave him a reassuring squeeze of his hand.

“Hello,” Meis used his free hand to run his fingers through his long hair, and he rolled his eyes when Gueira gave him an affection peck on his cheek.

“Nice to meet you. Come on, let’s all sit down and introduce everyone to, uh, everyone.” Gueria wasted no time pulling Meis along and plopped right in front of Lucia and Aina. Lio tugged the hem of Galo’s shirt and looked up with a sheepish expression.

“Sorry for them,” he mumbled. “They’re a little overprotective sometimes, but they mean well.”

“Hey, I get it. It’s really no worries.” A tiny gust of wind billowed through the waning leaves of the oak tree, and Galo tried to brush another strand of blonde away, but Lio soon let go of his shirt and joined his friends in the grass. Galo blinked twice before turning to take his own place among this new amalgamation of companions.

“Alright gang, this is Lio, Gueira, and Meis,” Galo pointed to each person as they were named. Lio and Meis gave everyone a shy wave while Gueira threw up an energetic peace sign and a toothy grin. “And this is Aina, Lucia, Varys, and Remi.” There was more pointing and waving and murmurs of hellos before a steady silence followed the introductions.

“So,” Gueira clapped his hands to interrupt the quiet. A breeze rustled the leaves above them, and a few tumbled in between their feet. “What are you guys all majoring in?”

“Since Aina and I are the coolest and smartest of the bunch, we’re Engineer majors. She’s focusing on aerospace while I get to build the cool stuff as a mechanical engineer.” Lucia chimed, earning her an affectionate arm around her shoulder from Aina.

“Remi and I are the _real_ cool ones, though,” Varys added, “I’m an Astrophysics major, and he’s in Pre-Med.”

“Sounds like you’re all a really intelligent bunch, Galo failed to mention that,” Lio quickly glanced towards Galo with a playful narrowed gaze.

“Ugh, of course he wouldn’t!” Lucia almost ripped a bag of marshmallows in half. She noticed Lio’s eyes widen at the treats and offered the bag towards him. He politely took three of them before shoving them all in his mouth. Galo couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. “What about you guys?” 

“Meis decided to be suave as hell and major in Music Composition while I’m in my final year at the culinary school.” Meis rolled his eyes again as Gueira puffed out his chest a bit.

“Which instruments do you play?” Remi asked.

“Most of them, really,” Meis waved a hand in the air, “but I love playing the viola the most, which is part of my concentration.”

“I played piano for most of my life, but I never thought to seriously pursue it and left it as a simple hobby.” There was something wishful gleaming in the green of Remi’s eyes.

“Do you have any videos? Lemme see if you do. I’m tired of living with a pair of tone deaf dodos, and it would be nice to chat with someone who understands.” Remi nodded and pulled out his phone as Meis scooted closer.

“I knew you only wanted me for my cooking skills!” Gueira clutched his chest in feigned agony.

“Speaking of which,” Varys pulled out his own phone, “what do you think of this dish I made the other night? Aina said it tasted better than it looked, but she’s gotta be blind because I think it looks good.”

“Let’s see it then!” Gueira scrambled next to Varys.

“Lucia,” Lio started as he popped what had to have been his twentieth marshmallow, “have you ever thrown these on your cereal?”

“Of course I have! I even add a little whipped cream and some chocolate sauce if I’m feeling feisty.”

“Me too!”

A different sort of warmth began to envelop Galo, starting from his shoulders and blooming along every crevice. It was nice, he thought, to see these two worlds collide so seamlessly. A bundle of friends gathered under an impossibly large oak tree, their amicable chatter coupled with the rustling of the autumn leaves overhead, the sun glittering through the cracks and illuminating every careful nuance—it was perfect.

Galo slowly raised his camera and snapped the shutter.

Aina crawled closer to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“See Galo, nothing to worry about.”

Galo looked towards the group, all laughter and smiles and mirth, and it made him wonder if somehow they may have known each other in another life. Lio’s eyes found his, and the fleeting moment felt long, so splendidly long and it was only made better when Lio punctuated it with a grin.

“Yeah.”

+++

“Meeting you was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

Galo almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk as he and Lio walked towards their shared class. Lio grabbed him by the elbow to help prop him back up.

_One of the best things!?_

“Haha, why do you say that?” Galo ran a hand through his hair as Lio shoved another sweet treat in his mouth.

“Because,” he answered in between bites, sucking the sticky sugar off his fingers. Galo tried not to visibly shudder at that. “If I never met you, I would have never met Lucia, and therefore would have missed out on her homemade rice krispy treats.”

_Ah._

“Ah, I see. I’m glad you guys became such fast friends though!” Lio gave him a blank expression, no doubt noticing the hesitation in his voice. He walked closer to Galo as a result, allowing their arms to brush with every other step.

“Me too. Gueira never makes sweets anymore, something about Meis and I eating them too quickly to be healthy, or something. Speaking of which, Remi and Varys have been informing them about the dangers of complex sugars, so Lucia is really my only chance of eating anything that tastes good.”

Galo let out a hearty laugh, “Sounds like a bummer, but you know they’re only trying to help, right?”

“Of course I’m aware of their concern for my well being, but I think I should be allowed to dip my finger into Tang powder every once and awhile.”

It’d only been a few days since all their friends met, but they all fell into step so easily with each other, like sliding a knife through butter. It also allowed Galo to find out some of the more strange but rather endearing things about Lio, like his odd and absolutely insatiable sweet tooth, and the way he _had_ to pet every single cat that crossed their paths, although that last one probably wasn’t so strange.

“Tang powder?”

The rest of their journey was filled with philosophical discussions of why Tang powder was far superior to Fun-Dip, or watered down rat poison as Lio had put it. As they took their normal seats in the lecture hall, Galo noticed a blonde strand of hair fall over the side of Lio’s glasses. He clenched his fists to resist the urge to tuck it behind his ear. When Lio turned to give him a warm smile, it served as a gentle reminder.

“Hey Lio, how far along are you with your end of semester project?”

“I was wondering when you’d ask, and I do have to start that portrait of you.” Lio twirled a pen around his fingers, “And I suppose I should allow you to take some photos of me soon.”

“Uh, yeah. But if you don’t want to anymore, I understand!” Galo really could not get used to hearing himself sound so flustered, but the softness glistening in the violet hues of Lio’s steady gaze made him forget all about his frustrations with himself.

“Of course I want to, it’s the least I can do since you’ve already allowed me to paint you once.” Relief swelled in Galo’s chest and he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “We should probably come up with a schedule of when I can paint you. I imagine you won’t need so many photos of me, though.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Galo couldn’t exactly have a portfolio of just Lio, “I only need a few. Maybe two or three sessions?”

“That’s reasonable. I was thinking of painting you once a week? Possibly on Fridays? Although, we can save this Friday for a photography session. I do owe you after all.”

“That works! I usually have Fridays off so that’s perfect.”

Lio huffed out a quiet giggle, “Great. I’m looking forward to it. We can meet in the studio building next door. There’s plenty of space there. Also, should I bring any clothes in particular?”

“Sounds good, and just your favorite outfit, I guess.”

Lio’s smile was sly and impish, “Okay.”

They both took out their supplies and settled in their seats. Lio was looking down at his previous notes, flitting through the pages with an elegant twitch of his hand. Galo hoped Lio wouldn’t catch him staring, wouldn’t catch him running his gaze along his lithe fingers or his contemplative expression with every little furrow of his brow as he tried to recall what his notes were about.

Galo also tried to muster up the courage to ask if Lio wanted to do something after their photography session, maybe take a night stroll along campus or even dinner if he was feeling incredibly bold, but before he could open his mouth, Professor Colossus began her lecture, and Lio’s attention was diverted elsewhere.

+++

Friday came along much sooner than Galo expected, and for the life of him he could not stop fidgeting with the camera slung around his neck. The walk from the library to the studio building wasn’t a long one, and Galo found the moonlit campus to be a little spectacular to stroll through, but with every twisted glance he chanced at Lio walking _so close_ to him, he wondered if his knees would buckle before they even arrived at their destination.

“The moon is quite large tonight,” Lio broke the silence, his hand briefly brushing against Galo’s. “There’s a particular room in the studio that might work if you’re willing.”

“I’m always willing to take suggestions,” Galo quickly retracted his hand, shoving it into his pocket to resist the temptation of lacing his fingers with Lio’s. It would be so easy to just reach out and gingerly grab his hand, cradle it with a tender reverence Galo didn’t realize he had reserved for Lio. The motion was not lost on Lio, though, who simply looked away, almost shyly.

_Was that a mistake?_

“Good. We’ll have to be careful, though, a lot of students keep their projects in there, including myself.”

“Please tell me you’re gonna let me see your work, you gotta let me see it!”

Lio fixed him with a very small smile, and perhaps it was the celestial curtain of the moon or Galo’s rose-tinted glasses, but a kiss of pink just barely flushed the apples of Lio’s cheeks.

“Sure, if you really want to see.”

Upon entering the studio building, Lio led the rest of the way, weaving in and out of the empty hallways, the fluorescent buzzing of the overhead lights doing nothing to calm Galo’s nerves.

They reached a set of double doors, which lead to another singular door. Lio tried the knob, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Damn, I guess we’ll just have to use the photography lounge.”

Lio scoffed before tugging at the bobby pin holding his bangs back. “Please,” he began to twist and fiddle with the pin until it was jagged and hooked, “don’t you worry your handsome little head, I’ll get us in.” Lio carefully inserted the pin into the lock and proceeded to slowly turn it around.

“Lio! We can’t just break into a room on campus. We’re gonna get in trouble! Besides, I doubt any of the doors here will open from just a bobby pin.”

“First of all,” Lio paused to readjust the pin, “this is an art building, the university doesn’t exactly dump its funds into the doors of this place. Compare it to the engineer building.” Galo opened his mouth to say something, but let out a sigh instead. He couldn’t argue with that. “Secondly, I don’t think I appreciate your doubt in my ability.” A loud click sounded off, and when Lio turned the knob, the door opened easily. Lio grabbed Galo’s wrist and pulled him through the threshold.

“Lastly,” Lio stopped abruptly to turn around and look up at Galo. There was a different sort of shimmer glazing over Lio’s expression, an open and honest determination in the way his eyebrows knit and in the way his always small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth that Galo suddenly wanted to kiss. “I would never let you get in trouble. I can talk my way out of anything.”

Galo didn’t know what to say.

As quickly as the moment happened, it vanished as soon as Lio turned on his heel and readjusted the duffle bag he was carrying. “I should go get changed. I probably should have changed in the bathroom before entering the room, but hindsight and all of that.”

Galo sincerely hoped his gulp wasn’t as noticeable as he thought it was, “Why can’t you go change in the bathroom now?”

“Because we just broke into this room, and I don’t want to draw any attention this way.”

“I thought you said you could talk your way out of anything!”

“Yeah, well, it’s better if I don’t have to. Besides,” and Galo wondered if he was truly conscious because he could have _sworn_ Lio threw him a wink. A light, fluttery little wink that quickly fanned over a delicate cheek, “It’s more fun this way.” Lio walked towards the opposite corner of the room. “And no peeking! Unless you really want to, I won’t mind, but if you need a distraction, I suggest taking a look around the room.”

Galo couldn’t decide between smacking his cheeks and falling into an uncontrollable coughing fit, so naturally, he did both. After his third or fourth wheeze, he heard Lio giggle over whatever it was that was jingling in the corner with him.

Jingling?

_What the hell is he doing?_

Rather than allowing his mind to wander too far into a strange, blissful oblivion, Galo decided to survey the room. He stood still, mouth agape with an awe-struck expression as he stared at the ceiling. The roof was replaced by numerous glass panelings, allowing the moonlight to filter into the room in a silky, silver stream. The real magic, though, was in the stained glass and mirrors hanging on strings from up above, the moonlight refracting luminescent, barely there rainbows onto the numerous pieces of artwork scattered around.

“I thought with the moon appearing so large tonight that you could capture some interesting photos in here, especially with all the glass.” Galo jumped at the suddenness of Lio’s voice, and Lio huffed out a tiny laugh, “A girl named Thyma is working on them. They’re incredibly impressive, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” Galo whispered, finding it hard to turn his gaze to Lio as he watched the glass sway in the air. He blinked and finally turned around, “they’re—”

Galo’s throat went dry, and his camera suddenly felt heavy against his constricting chest. Lio was dressed in tight leather pants as black as ink with a matching leather jacket, which fit snug around a white billowy blouse with a frilly cravat sticking out of the opening. Just those components of the outfit alone were enough to make Galo’s heart stutter, but the parts which really made sweat begin to bead above his brow were strapped tightly around Lio’s thighs and waist and really everywhere, moonlight gleaming off the metal.

_Fuck._

“Belts,” is what Galo said in all his eloquent glory.

Lio’s laugh was loud and rapturous, “Yes, belts.”

“So many of them.”

“Indeed.”

Galo simply stared, breathless and weightless and speechless until Lio quirked an eyebrow.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to stare, you just look so…”

“So what?” Lio teased, inching closer by two steps.

“Beautiful,” Galo breathed..

“Oh,” Lio stopped in his tracks, a look of surprise spreading across his face. Galo wasn’t sure what he expected him to say, but he was relieved when Lio rewarded him with another laugh.

“Well, that’s good. Thank you, this is my favorite outfit you know.” Lio grabbed him by the wrist again, “There’s some empty space over here.”

Maybe it was the gloves, those silky, inky black gloves, but the shiver that ran down Galo’s spine as Lio wrapped his fingers around him was deliciously thunderous.

They reached the center of the room, and Lio let go of Galo’s wrist, an odd frigity taking up the now empty space.

“So, what do you want me to do?” Lio asked, pacing around the center, “Do you want me to just...pose?”

“Honestly, yeah! Do what feels natural, and I’ll direct you if I need you to change positions.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

Galo lifted up his camera and peered through the viewfinder, observing Lio staring right through the lens.

“Whenever you’re ready, Lio.”

Galo has had many friends pose for him, has taken hundreds and hundreds of photos of all sorts of people, but this was the first time he had to tighten his grip to keep the nervous tremble of his hands from shaking the camera.

Yes, Lio was beautiful, a fact Galo established from the moment he saw him through the flutter of autumn leaves and the kiss of the sun. But here, under the quiet eye of the moon, Lio felt transcendent. His movements were elegant and smooth, not unlike smoke unfurling from the tip of a candle wick, each tilt of his head and swoop of his arm graced with the glittering, pastel reflections of the night glow bouncing off the hanging mirrored edges.

With each snap of his shutter coupled by the faint clinking of the glass up above, Galo noticed plenty of things about Lio; the way his lips all pink and plush would slightly part when he thought about his next pose, the way he would crinkle his nose when a strand of hair would fall over his face, and the way he looked at the camera, pointed and purposeful and powerful, pink and purple hues piercing right through the lens, right through Galo.

But despite how well Lio took direction, and despite how heavenly the environment was, something wasn’t feeling right with Galo.

Until a thought occurred to him, which was then followed by a blush as red as cherries.

“Galo, is everything okay?”

”Yeah, it’s just…”

“Am I doing something wrong?” The tiny hint of worry that clung to Lio’s question made something ache in Galo’s chest. 

“No! Not at all!” Galo waved his hands in the air. “I was just feeling like something wasn’t quite right. Then I thought of something that might work, but it’s kinda weird?”

“I’m sure it’s no big deal.”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Another little smile, “Try me.”

Galo took a deep breath, “How would you feel about lying on the floor?”

Lio’s eyes widened, but only for a moment before he laughed, “That’s what you were so nervous about? I don’t mind at all, but the floor is a little dull. Let’s add some color.”

Lio walked over to a covered canvas, peeling off the satin fabric to reveal an unfinished painting. Bright hues of pink and yellow took up most of the space, whirling this way and that with hurried strokes. A large black sliver spiraled in the middle, and Galo wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. He was impressed nonetheless.

“Whoa, Lio is that yours?”

“Yes,” Lio nodded as he draped the lilac sheet onto the floor, “it’s another end of the year project.”

“It looks really cool!” A pause, “What is it?”

Lio pressed a finger to his lips, “It’s a secret. Now,” he gestured towards the satin on the ground, “what do you think of me lying on top of this?”

“Actually, it’s great. You’re a genius.”

Lio sat down on the lilac and carefully lied on his back, “And so are you. Is this okay?”

Galo had to grit his teeth to avoid visibly gulping again. The image of Lio sprawled over the lavender satin, matching his bright irises, his hair fanned over him like a feathery crown under the colorful glitter of the glass, is something Galo will never forget. 

“It’s perfect. You’re perfect, Lio.”

A quiet hum escaped Lio’s lips, and Galo took the opportunity to snap the shutter once more.

It was definitely an improvement from before, the refractions from the hanging glass more visible across the surface of Lio’s leather, his skin, his eyes. Galo edged closer and closer after every shot until he was hovering over Lio, directing his arms above and below his head, next to his sides, directing his legs to angle one way and then the other.

Lio was a little different lying on the ground; he was open and pliant, the edges of his eyes softening until the ametrine faded into a moonlit version thanks to the sparkle of silver filtering through the windowed ceiling. His eyebrows were more relaxed, his expression less pointed and increasingly disarmed. And as Galo looked through the viewfinder and snapped the shutter, he wondered if anyone else could elicit such tenderness from Lio, wondered if anyone else had ever bared witness to the soft sheen glistening over a pair of vulnerable eyes just above slightly parted lips.

A strand of hair found itself caressing Lio’s wrinkled nose, and Galo felt bold enough this time. He dropped his camera and sat on his knees. He placed one hand next to Lio’s head while the other lingered over his nose. Lio’s breath hitched for a moment, pink dusting along his cheeks, staying as still as a statue. Galo carefully twirled the strand around his finger before tucking it safely behind Lio’s ear.

And there they were, sitting there staring again, Galo subconsciously lowering his head closer and closer to Lio’s. It was quiet save for the clinking of the glass and their labored breathing. Before Galo could close anymore distance, Lio spoke through the silence.

“You should probably take one more picture, just in case,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Galo slowly sat up and raised his camera. He stared through the viewfinder for several moments before snapping the shutter one last time, reveling in the breathless, tender vision of Lio Fotia sprawled in a sea of lilac.

“You have another strand of hair in your face.”

He didn’t.

“Do you mind tucking that one as well, then?”

He knew it.

“No, I don’t mind at all.” Galo bent over Lio again, allowing his finger to trace along the angle of his jaw. Both of their breathing sped up as Galo bent closer and closer until he could feel the warmth of Lio’s breath right above the bow of his lips. He was so close, _so close_ he was sure Lio could hear the pounding in his chest.

Until the hand perched next to Lio slipped on the fabric, causing foreheads to collide and yelps of pain to echo across the room.

“Fuck! Lio, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

Rubbing the center of his forehead with a gloved hand, Lio sat up and nodded, “I’m okay. Are you?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Galo was not alright, and it had nothing to do with the pain spreading across his skull.

They sat in silence, again, Galo unsure of what to do or say next. He watched Lio busy himself with his gloves, pulling down the fabric until it cut off mid-palm. Galo realized Lio was a little nervous, and so he decided to ease the tension the best way he knew how.

“Do you like food?” He blurted a little loudly.

Lio let out an exasperated huff, “Do I like food?”

“Yeah, uh, you know, eating?” Galo rubbed the back of his head.

“Generally, yes. I like food and I like eating. Why?”

“Well, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to get some food? Soon?” Galo stood up and outstretched his hand towards Lio, who grabbed it and allowed Galo to pull him up on his feet. Neither of them let go of the other.

“Like tonight?”

“If you want to, yeah.” Galo searched Lio’s expression for an inkling of doubt, but all he was met with was a reassuring smile.

“I’d like that a lot, actually. Do you mind taking me home first? I’d like to change. As much I love this ensemble, if we’re going to eat, I’d like to not be wearing tight leather.”

“Of course!” He gave Lio the best grin he could muster, but he knew it fell flat, and Lio knit his brows in concern.

“What’s wrong?” Lio tightened his grip.

“Nothing, nothing is really wrong. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to go on a date with me because I’m an idiot who just blurts _do you like food?_ like an annoying weirdo. You must feel bad for me.”

Lio frowned and Galo hated it.

“Galo, you’re not an idiot and you’re not annoying. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do, and I promise the idea of getting a late dinner with you sounds pretty lovely right about now, and not just because I’m starving.”

The odd weightlessness returned, and Galo wondered if he was getting drunk off starlight.

“Really?”

Lio stepped closer and beamed at Galo, “Yes, really. I like spending time with you.”

Galo wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that someone truly found worth in his companionship, but he needed just a little more confirmation.

“Are you sure?”

Lio sighed through his smile and rearranged their hands until only their pinkies were intertwined.

“Pinky promise.”


End file.
